Singapore reports minimal rise in virus cases with 261 infections

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s health ministry on Friday confirmed another 261 coronavirus cases, the city-state’s smallest increase in nearly two months, taking its tally to 37,183.

The lower number of cases was partly due to the fact that fewer swab-tests were conducted, the health ministry said.

Singapore plans to soon launch a wearable device for coronavirus contact tracing that, if successful, it will distribute to all of its 5.7 million residents, the government said on Friday.

The city-state has already developed the first-of-its-kind smartphone app to identify and alert people who have interacted with novel coronavirus carriers, but the bluetooth technology has been beset with glitches and the app is not widely used.

“We are developing and will soon roll out a portable wearable device that will ... not depend on possession of a smartphone,” foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan told parliament on Friday.